initial experiences of madrid very fine - i even like the airport. following up on internet-recs last night, we went to asador imanol for dinner. the result was pretty spectacualr: tiny choizo and morcilla, grilled veggies and 1.2 kilos of supreme chuleta with some new (to me) ruiba del d. e and i just getting dolled up for a trip downtown for tapas.

went to adad for lunch with e, pretty good all told. i should say it is rather french: gougeres, macarons, slighly fussy waiters &c. nicest things to eat were amoung the barrage of sweets heralding our exit (those macarons, mango with vanilla sorbet, salt caramels). a steak main course was hard to fault, but not terribly exciting which could be to do with ordering. excitingly tomorrow i will head off to madrid for tapas, copitas and perhaps to finish infinte jest.

e and i went to albion last night for a rather nice dinner of crackling, rib eye and rhubarb. the food and decor were rather good, and i think it is likely i shall return for one of the sausage rolls, or some silillar delicacy soon.

last night e and i went to hereford road for a pretty decent dinner. of note were our starters: an historic salad of smoked eel, frissee, bacon and croutons and a warm dish of fine beans and sweetbreads. the rest of the weekend looks likely to be filled with work and study, though perhaps some further culinary adventures will come to pass.

this week e and i had a nice late night (one might even venture madrid-esque) meal at magdalen of roast quail, snails on toast and a rather tasty beef chop. the cooking there has been tremendously consistent over my three visits and i would continue to heartily recommend it. on another culinary note, thanks to matthew grant the the belligerence of the good people of egullet there is even more marco on you tube. watch now.

this weekend has seen quite a lot of pretty good food consumed. last night e and i went to kastoori in tooting for what was some really rather delicious indian snacks. then, today i went to st john bread and wine for a lunch of smoked eel, hereford beef on toast and rhubarb jelly. i am now very tired and am soon for my bed.

a la u.e., here are my top 10 resto eats of 2008:

1. mixed seafruit and macaroni fortress (Ledoyen)
2. dry meat (Tayyabs)
3. langoustine and pig tails (Mugaritz)
4. razor clams a la plancha (Barrafina)
5. foie gras and jam (unidentified bar, San Sebastian)
6. txopitos (unidentified bar, Bilbao)
7. mixed grill (Mangal)
8. rib eye (Hawksmoor)
9. bone marrow and parsly salad (St John)
10. eccles cake and lancashire cheese (St John)

please feel free to tell me about yours i the comments.

i saw in 2009 in some style chez ostberg. i think perhaps my reflections on the evening might have be slightly clearer had i not decided to mainline port between 1130 and midnight. as befits the season, i have today been thinking of resolution and revolution. #1 for 2009 is a tidier inbox at work, and if achieved that would be some feat indeed. on nye eve e and i went to le cafe anglais for dinner. the food was quite good, with the celebrated parmesan custard and anchovy toast particularly toothsome. however the bread was appallingly stale, and the service dreadful. i think i shall not return to try more of the appetising menu, which brings my resolution count to two. when more comes to mind i shall share, if appropriate for public consumption. happy new year!